The changing Role of Social Media in Emergencies Communications & Resilience Workshop Falkirk, 28 th February 2012 Stefan Raue School of Computing Science University of Glasgow

Definitions Social Media Applications Social Media Applications: Internet-based applications Web 2.0 User Generated Content. “[..] a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content.” (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010)

Definition Social Media Applications - Examples Category:Blog Definition: (Oxford Dictionary) …is “a personal website or web page on which an individual records opinions, links to other sites, etc. on a regular basis.“ Random Facts:More than 180 million blogs on the Internet 270,000 words are written on Blogger every minute (2009) Other Platforms:

Definition Social Media Applications - Examples Category:Microblog Definition: (Oxford Dictionary) …is a website that allows “the posting of very short entries or updates [..], typically via a mobile phone.” Random Facts:more than 500 million registered users on Twitter more than 250 million tweets a day more than 2800 tweets a second Other Platforms:

Definition Social Media Applications - Examples Category:Video and Photo Sharing Platform Definition:…also called content communities. They allow users to share visual content with the wider online community on the Internet. Random Facts:more than 2 billion videos watched on Youtube every day more than 6 billion photos on Flickr more than 6,000 images uploaded to Flickr every minute Other Platforms:

Definition Social Media Applications - Examples Category:Social Network Definition: (Oxford Dictionary) …is a “network of social interactions and personal relationships.” It is a “dedicated website or other application which enables users to communicate with each other by posting information, comments, messages, images, etc..” Random Facts:more than 845 million Facebook users (~425m active every day) ~90 billion images uploaded to Facebook every year (250m / day) Other Platforms:

Social Media Levels of SMA Integration & Public Engagement LEVEL OF SOCIAL MEDIA INTEGRATION PASSIVE ACTIVE PROACTIVE BENE FIT INFORMATION DISSEMINATION ❶ ❷ PASSIVE MONITORING ❸ ACTIVE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT ❹ MONITORING WITH OPERATIONAL USE ❺ PROACTIVE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

Social Media Integration Information Dissemination – Megaphone approach Benefits: Applications: control over the channels (when / what / how / which) speed of information dissemination size of audience increased visibility of existing content / organisation warning and informing the public campaigning and risk communication

Social Media Integration Passive Monitoring - Get to know your audience Benefits: Applications: understand public’s perception / opinion identify key stakeholders / influencers in communities, for specific topics, etc. evaluation of own performance (e.g. popularity) evaluation of campaigns (e.g. acceptance, range of influence) static monitoring for specific events to gather information

Social Media Integration Active Public Engagement – Listen & Answer & Ask Benefits: Applications: shape public perception / opinion be more accessible to the public reduce load on other channels (e.g. hotlines) provide direct advice to your audience in non-critical events ask / request information (e.g. missing people, eyewitness) counter rumours and misinformation ensure communities on a personalised level

Social Media Integration Active SMA Monitoring – Listen & Understand & Apply Benefits: Applications: near real-time monitoring of incidents / events improve situational awareness information on demand from trusted sources detect events of interest that might not yet have been reported or are still to come (e.g. illicit street party, riot inciting messages) understand actions / plans / movements of groups of people post-event investigation (e.g. suspect identification)

Social Media Integration Full Integration of SMAs into Operations Benefits: Applications: receive information that is validated from trusted sources receive information that is in the required format link information received into other operational systems alternative emergency call system update on situations from public or volunteer organisations (e.g. on flood levels, snow depth, wildfires, ) update the public in real-time about your operations (e.g. dispatched vehicles, stock levels of sandbags, shelters)

What are the challenges?

Social Media SMA Integration – Benefit, Cost & Risk INFORMATION DISSEMINATION PASSIVE MONITORING ACTIVE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT MONITORING FOR OPERATIONAL USE PROACTIVE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT LEVEL OF SOCIAL MEDIA INTEGRATION PASSIVE ACTIVE PROACTIVE BENE FIT ❶ ❷ ❸ ❹ ❺ & COST & RISK manage the expectations of the audience make the objectives of your social media presence clear to the audience

Special thanks for making this graphic available under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Social Media Challenges Start small. Fail early. Learn often. Which platforms to use? Where is the target audience? Which platforms will be important in the next years? Platforms How to stay ahead of the curve? How to evaluate platforms in restricted IT landscapes? How to train staff to embrace new technologies? Experience, Knowledge Guidelines, Best Practices, Knowledge Exchange

Thank you for your attention. Any questions? Stefan Raue School of Computing Science College of Science & Engineering University of Glasgow Stefan Raue & Prof. Chris Johnson School of Computing Science University of Glasgow